Author Archives: Mark Wilson

About Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson is an emeritus Professor of Geology at The College of Wooster. He specializes in invertebrate paleontology, carbonate sedimentology, and stratigraphy. He also is an expert on pseudoscience, especially creationism.

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Intensely bored bryozoan from the Upper Ordovician of Kentucky

Mark Wilson March 23, 2014 1:05 am

Yes, yes, I’ve heard ALL the jokes about being bored, and even intensely bored. I learn to deal with it. This week we continue to highlight fossils collected during our productive expedition to the Upper Ordovician (Cincinnatian) of Indiana (with … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Bryozoan bored and bryozoan boring in the Upper Ordovician of Indiana

Mark Wilson March 16, 2014 1:21 am

This week and next we will highlight fossils collected during our brief and successful expedition to the Upper Ordovician (Cincinnatian) of Indiana (with Coleman Fitch ’15) and Kentucky (with William Harrison ’15). We found what we needed to pursue some … Continue reading →

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Ordovician bioclaustration project begins

Mark Wilson March 10, 2014 9:36 pm

FLORENCE, KENTUCKY–Today it was William Harrison’s turn to collect specimens for his Independent Study project. He’ll be working a full year on what he’s putting in these bags before he turns in his thesis. William’s project is an interpretation of … Continue reading →

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Ordovician bioerosion and encrustation project begins

Mark Wilson March 9, 2014 6:37 pm

RICHMOND, INDIANA–Meet Coleman Fitch (’15) standing on the iconic outcrop of the Whitewater Formation (Upper Ordovician) on Route 27 about a mile south of Richmond (C/W-148; N 39.78722°, W 84.90166° — which has a nice Google Maps street view). This … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A whale ear bone (Neogene)

Mark Wilson March 9, 2014 1:48 am

This is another fossil that has sat in a display case for decades in Scovel before I really examined it. Unlike last week’s specimen, though, it has no identifying label on its reverse. This is always a serious disappointment for … Continue reading →

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Wooster paleontologists begin a new field season

Mark Wilson March 8, 2014 8:30 pm

RICHMOND, INDIANA–This is the first day of what upper midwesterners hilariously call “spring break”, so it is time to get some students in the field. I can’t say this is the first Wooster geology fieldwork of the year because that … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An agate-replaced coral from the Oligocene-Miocene of Florida

Mark Wilson March 2, 2014 1:42 am

I long thought of this beautiful specimen as more rock than fossil. It is a scleractinian coral that has had its outer skeleton replaced by the silicate material agate and its interior skeleton completely hollowed out. The result is a … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An interlocking rugose and tabulate coral (Devonian of Michigan)

Mark Wilson February 23, 2014 1:21 am

This beautifully polished fossil looks like half of an antique bowling ball. Normally I hate polished fossils because the external details have been erased, but in this case the smooth surface reveals details about the organisms and their relationship. We … Continue reading →

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A visit to the Florida Museum of Natural History

Mark Wilson February 17, 2014 8:44 pm

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA — The 10th North American Paleontological Convention here is sponsored by the Florida Museum of Natural History. (The meeting is excellent, by the way, and very well organized. Congratulations to the paleontological team that put it together.) Since … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologists at the North American Paleontological Convention in Florida

Mark Wilson February 16, 2014 5:49 pm

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA–Steph Bosch (’14), Lizzie Reinthal (’14) and I flew out of icy Ohio this weekend to attend the 10th North American Paleontological Convention in warm, sunny northern Florida. The students jointly presented the beautiful poster above on their Independent … Continue reading →

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